Edited by: Daniella Gutierrez
The Future of Free Text Books at CNM
Tag: English Majors
CNM Instructor Publishes Her 2nd Book
February 20, 2017. By Hilary Broman, Senior Staff Reporter
Rebecca Aronson, CNM English instructor, recently published her second book of poems, “Ghost Child of the Atalanta Bloom,” she said.
The book starts with a field on fire, Aronson said, it has several themes such as fire and drought, parenting and loss.
About two years ago, Aronson decided to make writing more central to her life, so she teamed up with fellow CNM English instructor, Erin Adair-Hodges, and they worked simultaneously on their manuscripts while providing each other with feedback, Aronson said.
Both Aronson and Adair-Hodges submitted their final manuscripts to press contests and both of them won, Aronson said.
Aronson’s first book, “Creature, Creature,” was published in 2007 and it was composed of a lot of work that she did in graduate school, she said.
Aronson’s poetry has changed a lot over the years and her new book reflects that, she said.
“This book feels much more true to who I am,” she said.
Amidst her busy work schedule and family time, Aronson carves out time to write, she said, even if that means forgoing a weekend event or staying up late at night.
“I feel better when I’m writing,” she said.
Aronson recalls the best piece of writing advice that she received; she was talking to another writer about grading loads and responsibilities, she said.
“She grabbed me by my shoulders and said, ‘Just know that the writing has to come first.’ Aronson said.
It’s always problematic for Aronson to find that time because she wants to give everything she does her full attention, she said.
“I want to teach with integrity, I want to give my students good feedback, I want to give my son attention and I want to give my marriage attention,” she said, “Making a commitment to yourself to do it is the best thing and not to hold yourself to too high a standard.”
Aronson participates in National Poetry Month every April where she writes a poem a day for 30 days.
“At the end of the month I have 30 terrible drafts but then at least it gets my brain moving and it’s material to start revising,” she said.
Aronson is also involved with many CNM writing events, she said, she facilitates the Main campus writing group and organizes the CNM visiting writers series.
Aronson and Adair-Hodges also co-host a reading and music series outside of CNM called “Badmouth,” she said.
It’s a mix of performances by musicians and writers, she said.
“It’s something that we wanted to go to, but that didn’t exist, so we decided to do it,” Aronson said.
The upcoming Bad Mouth event will be on March 11th at Tortuga gallery and the ticket sales will be donated to Planned Parenthood, Aronson said.
Find out more about upcoming events on the Bad Mouth Facebook page.
Rebecca Aronson is scheduled to read from her new book at Sunday Chatter music on March 26th and at Book Works on April 20th, she said.
Aronson’s books can be found for sale at the Orison Press Website and on Amazon.
English department offers more classes plus online degree
By Carol Woodland, Staff Reporter
An exciting change is coming for students pursuing an Associate of Arts in English degree from CNM said Stephen Mathewson, chair of the English department.
Starting in fall of 2014 students will be able to pursue an AA in English completely online, he said.
“So you can take all of the core requirements within English but also within CHSS ( Communication , Humanities and Social Sciences) for the AA in English online,” Mathewson said.
Online courses will offer classes that include British, English and World Literature, as well as a class on literature analysis, Mathewson said.
The AA degree in English is also undergoing a revision to make transferring to the University of New Mexico a clearer process by synchronizing CNM with UNM requirements, he said.
“If students check UNM’s degree requirements online, they will see what ours will be. It’s a much more streamlined process especially at the sophomore level, and in the fall of 2015 our degree will match UNM’s revisions,” Mathewson said.
Currently students can choose from numerous different literatures and writing classes that include special topics course, such as Science Fiction Literature that will be offered at the West Side campus, a script writing class offered through the Theater department, and Film as Literature class which is already offered every semester, Mathewson said.
Despite the selection of course offerings, there has been low enrollment for some of the classes, English Professor, Rebecca Aronson said.
“This semester we didn’t have a poetry class on the Main campus because there was a dip in enrollment,” she said.
Aronson said she thinks that there are many great reasons why students should take Poetry or Creative Writing classes ranging from practical reasons to more expressive purposes.
“I think that on the imagination side, it’s a chance for people to express themselves, or sometimes just vent, follow their imaginative paths and do a freer kind of writing than academic writing,” she said.
In addition, students can gain a deeper connection to their lives and ideas when students write down their thoughts and aspirations, Aronson said.
Examining literature in English class can be an unexpected way to learn about culture by looking at literature from other countries or from the past, Aronson said.
“I think that poetry really is a good reflector of culture, time and place. You’re going to learn things about culture and what’s happening, and what that part of the world is like,” she said.
Reading literature from other countries can also help to get students informed about things they might not necessarily be learning from the news, Aronson said.
Mathewson said he thinks the skills students take away from English classes are essential in any professional environment.
“Not just writing emails, I think students don’t realize how much writing happens at work: proposals, grants, annual reports, revenue statements, those types of skills are universal,” he said.
Good writing skills, critical thinking, and analysis of all types of texts are all valuable skills developed in English classes, Mathewson said.
Writing for digital media, creative non-fiction, and professional writing are some of the biggest markets for English majors to start careers in right now Mathewson said, he also said he thinks that technology has been a catalyst to this growth.
“There’s sort of this misconception that texting is going to destroy writing, where actually the opposite is true,” he said.
Professional writing, which most people think of as technical writing, is not necessarily writing technical manuals and medical or government documents, Mathewson said.
From writing grants and proposals to critical analysis of nontraditional nonfiction, there are many interesting niches within professional writing, he said.
Though the field may be growing quickly writers still need to develop strong English skills in order to succeed in any field, Mathewson said.
“Digital media sort of exploded in a lot of ways, but within that explosion you still need to punctuate correctly and make sure subjects and verbs agree,” Mathewson said.
One way students can dig a little deeper into English is by taking 2240, a class in traditional English grammar, Mathewson said.
“In the last year or so Erin Lebacqz has revived 2240, which is a class that a lot of folks in education curriculums take but a lot of English majors take as well. It’s not really a writing improvement class, but sort of the theories behind grammar,” Mathewson said.
The track that students are taking to earn an English degree is evolving and changing to meet the needs of today’s workforce, Mathewson said.
“I think that it’s certainly changed from when I was a student. It’s become much more expansive and the traditional arrangements of English departments are no longer what they were,” Mathewson said.
For students still unsure of whether or not to pursue English as a degree, the English department has put together a video at the CNM YouTube website (youtube.com/users/ CNMonline) called “Why is Writing Important?,” and shows people from all different walks of life talking about how to use the skills students have developed in English classes, Mathewson said.
Aronson said that students sometimes avoid or fear taking English classes and should not have to feel that way because learning English is just like any other subject and that with practice people can learn to be great writers.